Recipe|| Wholemeal Banana Loaf

Alex and I are currently in a brunch war. Gosh, we do love a competition, but this is getting intense. Imagine gladiator, the old school TV programme with wolf and cobra. Well, now imagine a kitchen version. Almost like bake off, but with the competitiveness of a couple. That’s us every weekend at the moment.

Alex makes brunch one day, I do the next, and the level of creativity, presentation and tastiness has even shocked us of what we’re capable of.

It only takes a ‘What are you making for brunch this weekend?’ with an ulterior motive to beat it, to get the competitive side aroused and ready for battle.

Not too long ago, Alex made some AWESOME cinnamon apple pancakes. Light and fluffy, with something to them which reminded a tiny bit of my protein pancakes, they were served with a generous helping of sticky, sweet, soft apples on top – a combination which had me begging for more, but dying inside wondering how on earth I was going to beat such a dish.

Waking up a little early on the Sunday I got to my baking station. I’d already decided on the Saturday that I had to make something incredible. Something I’d never made for breakfast before. Something which would blow Alex’s socks off, and his dish off top spot.

As life is all about balance, I decided that that Sunday, we needed to be healthy. Well healthier than we had been the day before with all that golden syrup (no, I’m not putting down Alex’s breakfast as it was insane). So I decided I’d be making a banana bread, which I have baked a couple times before, but that I’d perfect my recipe and make it even healthier, and then serve it with some tasty toppings – that way I thought that I might have some chance in at least levelling the playing field.

The smell which filled the flat was really good if I do say so myself – there’s just something about the smell of baking wafting through the house/flat, which makes you feel like a domestic goddess, aren’t I right?

My banana bread turned out moist, slightly squidgy, almost doughy, in the middle from the banana and peanut butter (I do love this bit, and yes it was cooked properly), and it sliced with the tiniest bit of crumbling. The flavour, although a healthier version of banana bread compared to that of which I’ve made previously, was almost the same as previous versions, if not better.

Not too heavy, each bite had the banana flavour coming through, but it wasn’t overly sweet. Served warm, it almost felt like it was melting in my mouth, leaving behind a flavour which reminded me of a posh loaf of wholemeal crossed with a sweet bread, and banana pancakes. The nuttiness came through in moderation, with a little hint of the peanut butter just adding an edge to the banana loaf.

Served with a fat free natural yoghurt, baked banana and chopped peanuts, the combination went so well together, emphasising further those flavours already in the banana loaf.

So for this if you wanting to try my recipe, here’s how to make my banana loaf:

Ingredients:

75g butter, room temperature

2 1/2 tbsp. Peanut butter

2 eggs

2 tbsp. Milk

250g wholemeal flour, sieved

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp. Cinnamon

3 bananas, mashed

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200degrees Celsius. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the butter and peanut butter until we’ll combined. Add the eggs and milk, and mix well with an electric whisk.

Mix in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and banana, and whisk again until combined well.

Pour into the loaf tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 35-45 minutes, until cooked through (make sure a skewer comes out clean).

Serve warm with natural/Greek yoghurt, fruit and nuts.

And there you have it. My simple, healthy and tasty banana bread recipe for an awesome breakfast.

I’m not sure it totally topped Alex’s pancakes as they were insanely good, but I think it was definitely a big contender for top spot.